adminMarvelous Moyo Gwanda Correspondent
GWANDA residents have expressed mixed feelings over the municipality’s plans to introduce prepaid water meters in residential areas.
A few residents welcomed the move while a majority dismissed it as unwise and inhumane.
Coster Nkala of Spitzkop said he would never support a move that would deprive poor residents of a basic necessity.
“Water is a necessity to life so we’re seeing a situation whereby the poor will suffer. It’s not like airtime and electricity that one can live without.
“We’re likely to witness a dramatic rise in waterborne diseases because some people will be forced to drink from open water sources,” he said.
Nkala said, if implemented, the move would have a negative socio- economic impact on communities.
“I don’t think it’s a good move. It’s wrong to commercialise water,” he said.
Another resident, Petros Mukwena, said the move was ill-timed and unconstitutional.
“By installing prepaid water meters, it means the municipality is privatising because they’ll now be working with money spinning companies. It should be borne in mind that water is a basic right in terms Section 77 of the Constitution. Once the council introduces pre-paid meters, water will no longer be valued as basic as it becomes a status symbol,” he said.
Mukwena said the idea would only be noble if the prepaid meters were installed on a voluntary basis.
Viona Luphahla of Spitzkop North said the move would bring confusion and division among communities. “We’re already facing problems with electricity in some households because some tenants refuse to make payments and we end up fighting as residents,” she said.
Gwanda Residents’ Association chairperson Bekezela Maduma Fuzwayo said the municipality fast-tracked the idea of introducing the project without consulting all interested parties.
“I think the issue is being fast-tracked. We’re the residents’ association but we were never consulted. Residents were only given questionnaires concerning the project but didn’t get feedback. It was argued in the past that the move to install meters was unconstitutional,” said Maduma.
He said before embarking on the project, the municipality should first rehabilitate and develop the water infrastructure as there were a lot of leakages due to old infrastructure in the town. Maduma also said the municipality should also attend to its billing system.
There were, however, some residents who support the pre-paid water meters.
Lizelia Njazi of Spitzkop North Extension said the move would come as a relief as they were made to pay for water they did not consume.
“We’re in serious trouble because some of us are overbilled. In our area, we sometimes go for months without water, but we receive shocking bills. This move would be best for us because we’ll only pay for water that we consume,” she said.
The municipality flighted a tender for the supply and fitting of the pilot prepaid water meters in the Chronicle last Wednesday.
“The municipality of Gwanda intends to embark on the pilot prepaid water meter project in residential and commercial areas through a Public Private Partnership Agreement. The municipality therefore invites companies for the supply and installation of prepaid water meters from reputable contractors and finance companies who have successfully undertaken similar works in the recent past.
“Interested contracts/financiers or a joint venture of companies as well as specialised sub-contractors are invited to make submission that will enable the municipality to evaluate their experience and capability to undertake the assignment in a Public Private Partnership framework,” read part of the advertisement.
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